She has the glossy hair and can apply a smoky eye with the skill of a top makeup expert – but SSIN is anything but your average beauty vlogger. Editor-in-Chief Claire Starkey talks to the girl whose unique voice has set her on the path to YouTube domination.
She has the glossy hair and can apply a smoky eye with the skill of a top makeup expert – but SSIN is anything but your average beauty vlogger. Editor-in-Chief Claire Starkey talks to the girl whose unique voice has set her on the path to YouTube domination.
It’s 1am on a Saturday night in a photo studio in Seoul, Korea and SSIN has a question: why her?
Normally, CLEO puts celebrities on the cover. Was this a special edition?
Well it is our beauty issue. But, as I point out, she definitely fits that “celebrity” moniker.
After all, this is SSIN we are talking about – a fearless beauty YouTuber with over 1.2 million subscribers; who is regularly stopped in the streets; collaborates with Korea’s top beauty brands on new products, and gets invited all around the world to places like LA and, well, Singapore, to talk on panels.
She is without a doubt a star in her own right.
But what’s interesting about SSIN is that she’s a study in contrasts. As she asked that question, she was dressed in shower slides, a baggy tee and a black hat – with a face of perfectly-applied glossy makeup from the shoot. She runs a company but still cries at sweet YouTube comments from her fans. Her tutorials feature a face that looks air-brushed, which she won’t hesitate to screw up into hilarious expressions. And while she has amassed 260,089,839 views (and counting!) on her main channel alone, she isn’t quite sure what she’s doing on the cover of CLEO. How can you not want to know more about this paradox?
You became interested in cosplay and theatrical makeup in high school. Do you remember what first sparked your interest in makeup?
I was part of a cartoon club in middle school, and at the school’s festival held every year, we had to do cosplay, which involves putting on makeup. I always liked drawing, so I helped everyone in the club before I started putting on makeup myself. That’s how it all started.
Who was the first person you tried to copy the makeup of?
HyunA, the K-Pop star, which got two million views. The K-Pop-related content on my channel has been pretty popular. As for cartoon characters, it was Elsa from Frozen. The two videos were not extremely well-executed, but they marked my very first steps into the industry so I still remember them vividly. At the time, I didn’t even have proper background lighting. I just used a small camera my dad bought for me, balanced it against an eraser on a stack of twenty books, and used a small desk lamp as lighting to shoot the videos.
Did you find you’re naturally good at makeup?
I knew it at once. I loved drawing since I was little, and many people around me encouraged me to major in art. I went to an arts college and majored in graphic art. In order to get into art school, I had to study the basics, including watercolour painting, sketching and oil painting. I think makeup is one area of art that requires deep understanding and skillful expression of colour, perspective, and texture.
With this artistic foundation, I was confident I would be able to do a good job with makeup.
SSIN: The ultimate transformer
There are differing reports of when you actually started in the beauty world. Can you set the record straight and tell us how it all began?
I started blogging 10 years ago when I was in high school. I first created a blog and used it as my personal diary. At first, I put up content about cosplay makeup and posted some makeup reviews from time to time. At this point, all my content was expressed in words and photos. I started to meddle with video content during the winter of 2013. I was invited to a few TV shows, including Get It Beauty, because I was active in the makeup blogosphere. Around that time, some people suggested that I shoot videos. Armed with just my iPhone’s video camera, I started having fun with it and began uploading videos to YouTube. I was able to demonstrate techniques that I otherwise would not have been able to with just words and photos, and could show myself to my fans as I am. The followers from my blog were excited about my videos, and I got more fans. It all started out as a hobby, then it became a part-time job, and now I am a full-time YouTuber and a CEO with five employees.
Where did your YouTube name come from?
My nickname is Ssinim. In English, people call me SSIN, but in Korea, they use my full name. There is no special meaning and I have been using it for the last 10 years.
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen on the market since you started?
The YouTube landscape today has totally changed since I started YouTubing three years ago. Back then, I was just a student who did it as a hobby, but now I’m regarded as a creator, YouTuber, and influencer. Something that started out as a hobby attracted people, and I connected with them visually and emotionally, making an impact on their behaviour. My [videos] led to frequent purchases, and this moved the cosmetic marketing industry. Now the marketers are more interested in online influencer advertising campaigns than TV ads. This trend is spreading towards other industries including F&B and even public enterprises.
Was there a particular moment when you realised that vlogging could be more than just a passion project?
Maybe since I started making money out of it? (LOL) At first, I didn’t know I could make money with my YouTube activities. But after I executed some ads for brands, I realised this could potentially evolve into a solid job. I think it’s been about two years since that happened.
What is the process that goes into making one of your vlogs?
First, there’s a planning phase where we decide what to shoot. I usually try to find references on the web, and I keenly follow K-Drama trends for research. And then we prepare costumes, accessories, and equipment for the shoot. The actual shoot only takes about three hours. For editing, each staff takes charge of one segment, and the process lasts for about five days in total. In the process, I would direct, translate, review the result closely, then finally upload the video. I usually conduct the overall planning, approval, and thumbnailing. ParkPD [Sue’s brother] is the video and equipment director while Serim [Sue’s “cousin-sister”] is in charge of the editing team. I used to do this all by myself, but now we divide up the work.
Photography: SIHYUNHADA / Styling: Cheryl Chan / Hair: CHO Photography / Assistant: Jun An Baek / Fashion Assistant: Daniel Teo / Hair Images: SSIN’s Instagram (@ssinnim) / Main Look: Leather jacket, $2,090, Christian Dada. Wool sweater, Coach 1941. All jewellery, stylist’s own / Second Look: Cotton top, $63.90, Topshop. Metal choker, $7, Forever 21.
